KI NA TU, MAGONDI!

"The Seven Skulls of Magondi" appeared in CHAMBER OF CHILLS #6  (March 1952) with inks by Lee Elias and pencils believed to be the work of Warren Kremer.

In this issue is another story with unintelligible verbal nonsense, Carl Carruda thought he had it made when he killed the witch doctor and stole his necklace of priceless rubies. With it strung around his neck, he heads out of the jungle but soon learns that the witch doctor's magic is still potent after death.

DEATH BY JELLY (PEANUT BUTTER NOT INCLUDED)

This one's about as weird as they get. A (yes) mad scientist concocts a serum that he injects into a blob of protoplasm and the thing morphs into a humanoid monster that -- what else? -- goes on a killing rampage.

Nice artwork by the team of Bob Powell (pencils) and Howard Nostrand and Marty Epp (inks).

"Jelly Death" from CHAMBER OF CHILLS #6 (March 1952).

JACK OF HORROR!

One of the better team-ups during the pre-Code era were Bob Powell and Howard Nostrand. On their own, both were good artists, but I think together they complemented each other.

"Jack of Horror" from BLACK CAT MYSTERY #34 (Harvey, April 1952) is so crazy, I consider it an almost psychedelic story. It was reprinted in BLACK CAT MYSTERY #52 (October 1954) during the last gasp of horror comics brought on by the Comics Code Authority.

NOTE: Some of the panels in this story may look familiar; I used them in a previous post.

FROG IN YOUR THROAT?

Prefiguring the proliferation of "man vs beast" covers and stories that would flood men's adventure magazines just a few years later is this crazy quickie by Bob Powell called "Green Horror" from Harvey's WITCHES TALES #6 (November 1951). Powell isn't at his best here, and I bet more than a few young readers laughed more than were scared of these "human frogmen", an oxymoron if there ever was one. Editor Leon Harvey must have liked this issue (or had to rush something to press) as it was reprinted in its entirety in WITCHES TALES #27.

WELCOME TO MURDER MANSION!

Known for his ghastly cover art more than his interiors, Lee Elias illustrates this dreadful tale of Lucy, a woman who inherits the pile called Moon Mansion, shunned by the townspeople because they say it is haunted. Together, she and her husband find soon enough that it's much more than that.

From Harvey's WITCHES TALES #6 (November 1951).

CLEAN AS A WHISTLE

Henpecked Abner finds a clever way to get rid of his overly-fastidious wife in this tale of creepy comeuppance called "Clean As a Whistle" from Harvey's BLACK CAT COMICS #49 (April 1954). Art is by John Giunta.

BEWARE THE BLOBS!

Five years before Steve McQueen encountered a giant, jellied mass in a small town in Pennsylvania, a horror comic introduced the concept. Working feverishly at the Farnley Experimental Laboratories, bacteriologists Fisk and Bartlett have developed a "rare and malignant" species of bacteria that evolves into a giant, hungry, flesh-eating blob. It's up to Dr. Hughes working conveniently at another bacteriology lab nearby to come up with a solution before the thing consumes the entire planet.

"Nightmare of Doom" appeared in Harvey's CHAMBER OF CHILLS #15 (January 1953) with art by Al Avison. Generally referred to as the cover story for this issue, based on the image, Lee Elias likely had only the story title to rely on.